Marco Rubio, Republican knight in shining armor, to joust with Obama

The 41-year-old Cuban-American senator from Florida will deliver the Republican rebuttal to Barack Obama after the president’s State of the Union speech on Feb. 12. Rubio has been frequently critical of White House economic policies and what he views as the president’s expansion of government at the expense of the private sector.

The rejoinder, to be delivered in English and Spanish, will mark Rubio’s first audition to become president of the United States in 2016.

Unofficially, that is. Rubio is still being publicly coy about his plans in four years. Yet make no mistake. He is by far the party’s early frontrunner to be the Republican standard-bearer in 2016, potentially in a match-up against Hillary Clinton. Already, he’s been featured on the cover of Time magazine and other media profiles are in the works. Read Time cover article.

It’s never too early to start getting your face out in public these days, and Republicans want to build the Rubio brand. He is young, telegenic, serious, polished – arguably the best public speaker produced by the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan.

Some conservatives even refer to him as the Republican Obama, a grudging acknowledgment of the president’s political skills. They hope he can achieve a similar success and restore Republicans to the White House after a pair of stinging defeats that have raised questions about the future of the party.

Whether Rubio can live up to the billing remains to be seen. The media glare, now somewhat warm and fuzzy, will surely get sharper and more critical. Rubio’s conservative views on abortion and gay rights, for example, will become an inviting target of liberals. And his past includes several questionable episodes involving his personal finances that will be dredged up again – though they didn’t stop Rubio from winning a Senate seat at the tender age of 39.

Some conservatives, meanwhile, may look askance at Rubio’s bold decision to take the lead on immigration reform. Although Rubio has been a tea party favorite, he is pushing Republicans to soften their stance on the fate of illegal immigrants in the United States. Republican strategists – and 2012 exit polls – show the party’s harsh stance on immigration cost them with Hispanic and other minority voters.

Yet if Rubio can get Republicans to join with President Obama in an immigration-reform bill that both parties can live with, his stock will soar and perhaps leave other Republican contenders for 2016 in the dust.

Rubio’s closest contenders in his own party are thought to be Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential choice.

Yet Christie has angered many Republicans with his attacks on party leaders in Congress and his good political relationship with Obama. Jindal, a brainy but often wonky politician, is not seen as having enough national appeal.

Ryan is probably Rubio’s biggest threat, but he has given signals that he might stay in Congress and eventually seek a leadership role. His decision to throw his support behind Rubio’s immigration-reform plan is perhaps evidence that Ryan also sees Rubio as the party’s best hope nationally.

Another major factor to keep in mind is money. Bigwig Republican donors and the party establishment historically like to coalesce around one candidate who appears to have the best chance of winning. If Rubio starts raking in the dough early on, that will attract even more campaign cash and starve his rivals.